There is no greater feeling--of awe, despair, exhilaration--in Dune: Awakening than being eaten by Shai'Hulud. In the 60-plus hours I've spent with developer Funcom's open-world survival MMORPG, I've been swallowed by the sandworms of Arrakis exactly twice. Both encounters were moments I'll never forget.

Dune: Awakening is filled with these kinds of moments, ones where the desert world of Arrakis becomes the star and the player merely a small actor. Whether it's crossing the open desert sands and narrowly escaping Shai'Hulud's maw or piloting an Ornithopter for the first time, Funcom's latest makes author Frank Herbert's iconic book feel real in a way not even Denis Villeneuve's critically acclaimed Dune films managed to accomplish. Dune: Awakening is nothing if not ambitious in that regard, adapting an infamously difficult-to-adapt masterwork of science-fiction with confidence. Though it eventually does become repetitive, its endgame lacks direction, and its strict adherence to the source material is sometimes an Achilles' heel, Dune: Awakening nonetheless manages to carefully mix and match genres to create a Spice Melange cocktail that is hard to put down--at least for the first few dozen hours.

From Dune: Awakening's very first moments, Funcom's reverence for Herbert's universe is clear. While clearly inspired by the look of Villeneuve's films (certain designs, like the Ornithopters, Imperial Testing Stations, and the look of the Harkonnens are ripped straight from the movies), Funcom also puts its own spin on the Dune universe, effectively blending the two looks together to create something that feels both familiar and different, but unquestionably Dune.

Video games and mechs are a match made in heaven, so it's surprising there aren't more games about piloting the hulking war machines. 2023's Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon was the last mech game of note, delighting both fans and newcomers alike with its breakneck action and fully fledged customization. Yet those of us looking for more mecha-based thrills have been left wanting in the years since.

You can only go so long without soaring through the air in a sleekly designed mech, dodging missiles and small-arms fire like you're starring in Macross or Mobile Suit Gundam before you begin to crave more. Up steps Mecha Break: a new free-to-play, third-person multiplayer game that evokes the exciting, full-tilt action of classic mecha anime. With three distinct game modes on offer and dozens of varied machines to pilot, Mecha Break offers quick thrills, but a lack of customization and a free-to-play model built on aggressive monetization and not-so-micro transactions hold it back from achieving pure mecha greatness.

Things kick off with a brief introductory mission that does a poor job of teaching you the objectives of an actual match. With its boss fights and set-piece moments, it feels more like a mission from a nonexistent single-player game than a primer for what Mecha Break has to offer. There's some semblance of worldbuilding revolving around a mysterious mineral called Corite, which drove humanity's rapid technological growth but is now killing the Earth.

Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1+2 was a phenomenal package that made lifelong fans like myself fall in love with its quarter pipes and rails all over again. It was a wonderful tribute to the 1999 and 2000 originals, but there was one big bugaboo that left me and other fans wanting: the exclusion of the series' third entry. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 felt missing from the first remake, stripped from the games it most closely resembles. And while that problem may seem solved with Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3+4, from the outside, developer Iron Galaxy has made a number of decisions that are likely to leave fans of the originals disappointed, even though this second remake is still an excellent Tony Hawk game.

The original three games fit together perfectly, with each subsequent game adding new mechanics that made the series' trick system feel complete by Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3. Each game was also structured in the same way, giving players two-minute skate sessions to complete as many goals as they could, performing tricks and earning high scores, before moving on to the next two-minute session. It's a format that works well, so much so that you'll have a hard time stopping yourself from going for one more run.

However, it's not how Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4 was structured, with the fourth game instead opting for freely roamable levels that mission-giving characters called home. Time limits only came with specific challenges when the likes of pro skater Geoff Rowley asked you to steal police officers' hats or a college student pleaded with you to take revenge on the local frat boys. In THPS 3+4, the levels from 4 have been retrofitted to behave and play like levels from the first three games. That means fewer goals per level, no mission-givers, and a time limit to top things off.

After cutting its teeth on melee combat and kung fu action with Absolver and Sifu, I don't think anyone expected Slocap's next game to be an arcadey alternative to EA Sports FC. But that's precisely what the French developer has crafted with Rematch: a football game that embodies the spirit and chaotic energy of having a kick-about with friends. From the wayward passes and the goalkeeper who decides he's now a striker, to someone popping up with an incredible goal out of absolutely nowhere, Rematch constantly reminded me of my childhood and the countless hours spent playing football. When I was at school, I would forego food just so I could play for the entire hour-long lunchtime; when I was off school, I would inevitably get together with friends and head down to the local park, using jumpers as makeshift goalposts. Other games have done this kind of five-a-side style of football before, but none have come as close as Rematch does to capturing the essence of my footballing heyday.

Rather than taking control of an entire team, Rematch puts you in the boots of a single player in 3v3, 4v4, and 5v5 matches. There's a short prologue and some training minigames to play on your own, but beyond this you're always playing with and against other human players. Each match lasts six minutes, and there's a mercy rule that immediately ends the game after one team has taken a four-goal lead (I guess Slocap never saw Newcastle vs. Arsenal circa 2011). The only stoppages occur when a team scores; otherwise, Rematch plays fast and loose with the rules. There are no fouls, offsides, or handballs, and throw-ins, corners, and goal kicks are nonexistent due to the pitch being surrounded on all four sides by giant transparent walls. This quickly establishes a chaotic pace. Sometimes it's messy, while other times you feel like Messi. There's also no progression or skill points to help improve your player's attributes. Everyone is on a level playing field, so only the most skillful will rise to the top.

After its predecessor served as a beacon of novelty amidst a sea of stagnation, Death Stranding 2: On The Beach had a big challenge to overcome. Death Stranding's absurd nature, encompassing everything from urine grenades to gently rocking your controller to calm a distressed baby, was coupled with a rich new setting to unravel. Step by step, Sam Porter Bridges connected a post-apocalyptic America to a network by making dozens of deliveries from one point to another. Its slow and methodical pace made it somewhat of an outlier in the AAA space. The sequel follows suit in most ways that made its predecessor stand out. The core foundation remains unchanged--planning and executing each delivery requires strategy and improvisation, and they're still satisfying to pull off. But this second iteration doesn't feel as arresting as it mired in familiar story beats, a disappointing lack of friction, and an obsession with doubling down on the weaker aspects of Death Stranding.